Patrick, I haven't worn the Specialized jersey but by the description it uses a type of thermal Roubaix type fabric, which is a generic term that refers to a bi-component polyester, smooth on the outside and fleeced on the inside. Some brands use hollow fibers which greatly add to the insulating qualities. Boure for one uses hollow core fibers in their thermal fabrics. Boure tights are also high waist type, and you can tell on the product pages. No plumbers butt ! Boure also does custom work for a 25% added fee. Everything is made on site in their Colorado shop. They also have a jacket and vest of that fabric that has a supplex nylon front and shoulder yoke to block the wind. A supplex wind jacket/vest with mesh backs also. While I haven't the need for any of their apparel as I all I need at this time, I appreciate the local, in-house business model. https://www.boure.com/6504.html https://www.boure.com/tightsmen.html https://www.boure.com/jacketsvests.html
I've tried so many ways of layering that I can only conclude that as long I come home alive and well, whatever I wore was obviously working well enough. I'll add a few of my favorite ways of layering. 1. Layering shells and vests. Most useful is to layer a mesh back vest over a wind-breaking nylon/poly hooded shell. I must note also, that wind-breaker types of jackets can vary wildly in the amount of wind they block and body vapor that can pass through from within. Isn't that what "sweat" is made of, vapor that builds to form larger droplets ? In the warm breeze this cooling effect is welcomed, in the cold wind it is not. So better not to get to the point of sweating in the cold, at least for me. Less insulation while having adequate wind shedding and vapor dissipation within the garment itself to maintain of comfortable bodily climate. . Rather like living in a nice Greenhouse, warm but not too warm, moist but not too moist.... just right..... mmmmmm . 2. A long or short sleeve poly base layer shirt over a hooded shell. Craft is my favorite base layer shirt and for this year I've worn a Marmot Zenyatta hoody softshell. It has a soft hand, inherently stretchy and quiet, 100% poly bi-component knit. The Zenyatta was a surprise, I bought it for around the house but tried it while riding and found myself maintaining steady body comfort in all sorts of conditions. If I need more warmth I'll either throw on a mesh back wind vest, a light poly fleece vest, or both. I've even worn another super lightweight windbreaker over the Marmot to warm back up after stopping in the cold and howling wind. Easy to take on/off riding. 3. I wear some Aerotech thermo-Roubaix fleece bib tights down to about the 30 degrees, my limit for enjoyable cold riding with what I have. I wear these over Sportful bib shorts. I have these in both summer nylon and bi-component fall/spring roubaix type fabric. If I need a bit of extra warmth, I'll throw on a pair of oversized unlined swim shorts, the Coscto ones actually ,Turtle sea prints and all ! Who doesn't love to wear shorts in the cold, albeit over warm tights ? If I do need some extra leg warmth, I have some older, well worn Defeet Kneekers I can pull on over the tights on the calves or knees. I love me some Kneekers but sheesh, Defeet keeps changing them over the years. They used to be slightly longer and more stretchy. A company rep told me they've not changed but I have 5 pairs that say different. Armskins are also wonderful. Their leg warmers tend to fall on my longer legs so I wear 2 pairs of kneekers instead, one on the thigh and knee, the other over the calf up to the knee. That eliminates the pull from the lower portion upon the upper. I wear the coolmax Kneekers and Armskins as the wool ones itch like crazy on my skin. 4. Balaclavas of various thickness and windproof neck gaiters, with another insulating cap on top. Keeping wind off my neck is essential, as is a hooded jacket. 5. For my feet thick socks with diy plastic toe booties inside to retain heat over Altra Lone Peak RSM shoes. I also have some Showers Pass mountain socks, supposedly their warmest. I bought them only for wind blocking as they have a laminate sandwiched in between the layers. They're not as warm as I hoped though and they're too tight/not-so-stretchable overall to layer under them, and I don't even have thick feet. 5. My hands I wear 5mil nitrile "disposable" but reusable gloves first, then various gloves and mitts over that. The nitrile gloves act as a vapor barrier, trapping moisture in my hands keeping the glove interior dry. While my hands can feel wet if overheated, they don't turn into a water balloon as you might think. Having a vapor barrier is the only thing that works as my hands/feet freeze easily. If I lived in some wondrous place where I could ride snow covered roads and trails in winter unfettered with cars and deicers, I'm sure I would be able to ride in and enjoy much colder temps with some additional clothing. I like the slower pace that goes with winter, whether I'm walking/hiking or riding. That said...I'm off for a 7 degree walking hike in the forest on this cold winters day. A base layer shirt with windbreaker over that, a fleece jacket on that and a vintage LL Bean super oversized XXL-tall Anorak on top. Roubaix tights and nylon wind pants . A balaclava, neck gaiter and Lowe Alpine winter cap. Refridgiwear mitts. Poshmark is my go to place to find second hand clothes of all types, especially vintage like LL Bean stuff. On Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 11:13:49 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote: > This is excellent information; thanks. I will keep my eye on the Showers > Pass line. > > On Fri, Jan 28, 2022 at 6:29 PM 'WilletM' via RBW Owners Bunch < > rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote: > >> >> Another enthusiastic vote for Showers Pass Elite and Refuge (and other >> models) jackets as outer layers in cold/dry conditions. Winter riding in >> western Colorado at 6000' of altitude is exceptionally comfortable, whether >> it's snowing (which is basically dry conditions) or actually dry outside. >> I do find that the pit zips alone are not sufficient for ventilation >> (staying in that target zone of cool and dry) in the temperature range of >> 20-35 F. where I most prefer to ride. So I usually am working the front >> zipper of my shell (and also a half-zip 100 weight fleece underneath) up >> and down as needed to keep my upper torso cool (and therefore dry) rather >> than warm. >> >> As I believe others have mentioned, ventilating the sleeves (and keeping >> your arms/layers dry) is typically more difficult due to limited options >> for directing airflow (compared to the torso). I mostly address this by >> keeping my torso/layers extra cool/dry when I feel my sleeves starting to >> get clammy. >> >> It certainly is true, at least in my experience over quite a few years, >> that it is MUCH more challenging to stay cool during cold weather riding >> conditions than it is to stay warm. Warm is usually just a zipped-up >> zipper or amped-up heartrate away, whereas cooling off and drying out takes >> time and patience and practice to get the correct "recipe" to match the air >> temp outside. But in the end, the (often rather expensive, admittedly) >> accumulation of clothing and gear, and the numerous test runs and >> trial/error periods of getting to the point of dressing properly for the >> NOW temperature/conditions and taking a few extra pieces to address the >> LATER temp/conditions is really, really rewarding. A sunny day at 25 >> degrees and a smooth asphalt shoulder along the highway is, for me, about >> as good as it gets for mid-winter bicycling. >> >> Willet M. >> Carbondale, CO >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e589cabf-2484-4119-afba-afcd1bb2763bn%40googlegroups.com.
